Worker’s compensation is a significant concern for employees. There are several ways one can get hurt while on the job. And if your health insurance doesn’t cover all factors, it can be a hassle to ensure your speedy recovery. Also, there’s the question of compensation for all the work hours you lose and thereby miss your payments.

Normal health insurances don’t cover any miscellaneous costs such as parking fees at the doctor’s office, travel compensation if the doctor is far away, and more. That is why the US government, in conjunction with employers, devised the worker’s compensation bill to ensure workers are duly compensated for all the injuries and the damages they might receive while working.

However, there are several time constraints while applying for worker’s compensation. Fort Lauderdale follows the state laws of Florida. According to Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation lawyers, you will have several deadlines for different events arising from your workplace injury. To receive your due compensation, you need to ensure you do not cross any of these deadlines.

Failing to meet even one of these deadlines can have major consequences on your application for worker’s compensation. You can even lose all your benefits even if you are entitled to them simply because you didn’t apply on time.

Deadline For Reporting On The Job Injuries To Your Employer in Fort Lauderdale

It is generally a good idea to inform your immediate supervisor of your workplace injury as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the lower your chances of having your application accepted, unless you have a very good reason and could not reach your immediate supervisor due to being in critical care or your supervisor not being available.

In any case, you are required to inform your supervisor of your on-the-job injury on or before 30 days from the date of your accident. Failing this, your chances of getting your application accepted will be diminished to almost zero. Only a few such cases are accepted after the 30-day deadline and only under dire circumstances.

Deadline For Your Employer To Report Your Accident To The Insurance Company

After officially receiving information from you, your employer must inform the insurance company at the earliest opportunity. Although this is the job of your employer or your supervisor, there is a good chance they might forget to do the same. Although such instances are rare, it is always in your best interest to follow up with your employer or the immediate supervisor and never forget to take any form of a receipt from them.

At the most, the employer should not wait more than a week to report your injury to their insurance company. If they do, they must give a valid reason for the same. Regardless, your chance of getting your compensation is reduced heavily.

Time Normally Taken To Hear Back From Your Employer’s Insurance Company

Typically, it should not take you more than three days to receive information from the insurance company. It will usually be via email informing you about the workplace injury as informed by your employer or your immediate supervisor and letting you know of Florida’s worker’s compensation.

If you did not receive any email even at the end of 3 days since your supervisor informed the insurance company, you would have to immediately follow up with the supervisor and the insurance company to ensure that your application isn’t lost or there aren’t any other problems. Not hearing back from the insurance company does not mean your claim has been denied. However, it can mean that the insurance company has never received any claim in the first place! This is a much bigger problem considering the deadlines placed for you to inform the company.

When Will Florida Worker’s Compensation Case Be Closed?

Whether you go to court or not, your worker’s compensation case will be open with your employer’s insurance company as long as you receive any compensation from the insurance company. Your case file will remain open for two years since the date of your last medical treatment or receiving the last worker’s compensation check from the insurance company.

This can be many years from the day of the accident that caused your injury. It doesn’t matter. Your case will be open all the time and two years more. This is done to ensure that there are no more pending compensation issues lined up against the compensation that you are receiving. The waiting period ensures that you do not have any further complications from the medical treatment or otherwise have a work-related issue.

Time Remaining To File For An Appeal In Cases That Initially Were Rejected

Sometimes, it just so happens that your employer’s insurance company rejects your application based on any reason. Or, you may feel like you were under-compensated for your injuries and are willing to negotiate for higher compensation. In such circumstances, you are allowed to file an appeal with the courts and ask for a better settlement.

In Fort Lauderdale, under Florida law, you are given a maximum of 2 years from the date you received the verdict about the compensation to complete and file for more benefits. Once this 2 – year window passes, you can no longer ask for better compensation and will have to stick with the one you are given.

The Two Most Important Deadlines To Note

Of all these, two deadlines are extremely important for you to note and should never miss.

• The first 30-day deadline is when you should inform your employer of your injury in writing.
• The two years are given to you to file your claim with the court.

These are extremely important to note and should not be forgotten under any circumstances. People that miss these deadlines seldom get any compensation for a workplace injury.

Conclusion

Fort Lauderdale worker’s compensation plan benefits the employee by compensating them for any injury they might face on the job. However, time is extremely important in such cases, as if you miss your deadlines, your claim will most likely be rejected regardless of the case’s merits. Always look out for different deadlines on your claim’s application from the day you were injured. Since this is such a hassle, most people that have suffered from work injuries hire personal injury attorneys in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to negotiate on their behalf.